Can anybody tell me what issues have been addressed in the recent upgrades - I am still on 1.7 but my question has gone unanswered.

I realise this is a free product and support is likely to be non-existent but upgrading without really knowing what the benefits are, and possibly causing yourself a headache is not normally a good idea.

Yes I am aware that I can do this. But change for the sake of it is not a good idea. I don't have the time to test every aspect after a change and usually I just find out sometime later that the site has had its functionality impaired.

So I like to know if their is value for my scenario in the upgrade.

I am also aware that the people here are forum volunteers and WP.ORG staff and that they have no control over what goes on with a developer and his theme - its about pushing buttons - some dont work - some do. But that said I was not aware of the bumping rules, so thanks for the pointer.